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Monday Motivation | Try raising your standards.

I used to work for an organization that required everyone to operate with extremely high standards. The Owner/CEO was never comfortable with our level of results even though the company had outperformed itself year after year. Working in that type of environment was extremely eye opening. I learned about how much we can expand as individuals. No matter how high the standards that were set for us, we adjusted accordingly and constantly stepped up to meet the challenge.

We operate with a certain standard around everything in our lives. We've defined standards for our health, finances, friends, our environment. Maybe not directly, but somewhere along the way, we've developed a standard for ourselves. Sure, we may say we want more and better. But it looks very different from what we say we are willing to accept.

Acceptance is what really defines our standards. If we do nothing to change it, we accept it. If we accept it, we have set the standard. It's really about our level of comfort. For instance, you are comfortable with your home environment the way it is. But, what if tomorrow, you suddenly notice an influx of roaches entering your home. Undoubtably, you'll do something right away to bring the situation back to your standard. You're not just gonna accept it. Same thing if you wake up tomorrow and you're 15 lbs heavier. I'm sure you'll take action right away to get you back to your weight, pre 15 lbs.

Back when I suffered from massive breakouts, I set a new, higher standard for my self of having clear skin. I invested my financial resources, created new routines, and even changed my diet in order to get the results I wanted. Then, the pimples went away and I got complacent. I no longer continued to raise my standard and my actions aligned accordingly. The thing about standards is that if you allow one area to slip, chances are, other areas are not far behind.

Reflecting my current actions, I can see where my standards have fallen (or I have failed to maintain certain standards). So it's time to raise them again. And I'm not talking about that thing where I say I want the situation to be different. I'm talking about adjusting my actions to align with the standards that have been set. At my previous employer, we didn't judge a persons standards by what they said, we could easily identify a person's standards by their operations. It was really easy to identify with a person with high expectations for their business.

It's time to do a little reset. To identify what I'm truly willing to accept in my life and adjust my actions accordingly. Am I willing to accept what is or am I ready to raise my standards. One thing I remember is that people who worked under a manager with high standards seemed happier. Sure, maybe didn't appreciate having to pay attention to all the tiny details, but when they transferred to manager with low standards, they immediately became uncomfortable with the new environment. We used to have a saying where we challenged ourselves to "be uncomfortable being comfortable." Our current standards define our level of comfort. But it also hinders more than it serves us. I challenge you to leave this area of comfort and raise your standards to allow you to experience a new, elevated life. And, once the new standards are set, get into action to make those standards the new normal.